Day 1: Voice, Presence and Nerves

Breathe, stand, begin

Build a two-minute pre-speech routine you can use before any class presentation, interview or exam speaking test.

1. Breathing (5 minutes): sit or stand with feet flat and hip-width apart. Breathe into your belly, in through the nose for a count of 5, out through the mouth for a count of 5. Do not force it.
2. Posture (3 minutes): stand with feet about shoulder-width apart, knees relaxed, back straight, shoulders squared and head up, as described in the Toastmasters Pathways guide.
3. Partner check (4 minutes): one person stands in speaking posture and says a single sentence; the other names one thing that looks confident.
4. Write your personal routine on an index card: for example, 'three slow breaths, feet planted, shoulders back, find a friendly face, first sentence'.
5. Rehearse your routine twice, then say your first sentence from the warm-up again and re-rate your nerves.

Vocal variety lab

Hear the difference your voice makes by saying the same words in different ways.

1. Choose a short paragraph of 4 to 5 sentences: a news report, a school notice or a paragraph from a book you like, in Arabic or English.
2. Read it once flat and fast. Then read it again slowly with clear pauses at each full stop.
3. Mark one key word per sentence and read it a third time, stressing those words with volume or pitch.
4. Add one deliberate 2-second pause before the most important sentence and read it a fourth time.
5. Add one purposeful gesture of any of the four types and read it a final time.
6. Write down which version felt most natural and which sounded most convincing. They may be different.

Table Topics round

Table Topics is the impromptu speaking part of a Toastmasters meeting: a Topicsmaster asks a question and each speaker answers for one to two minutes with no preparation.

1. Roles: one Topicsmaster (asks questions), one Timer (shows green at 1 minute, amber at 1 minute 30, red at 2 minutes), one Ah-Counter (notes filler words), speakers. Rotate roles each round.
2. Prepare 15 topic cards, such as: 'Advice to your younger self', 'The most useful object in your house', 'A skill every teenager in the UAE should learn', 'Describe your perfect weekend without using your phone'.
3. Each speaker draws a card and answers as a mini-speech with an opening, body and closing, as Toastmaster magazine suggests.
4. Start with your opinion: you already know what you think, so begin there with confidence.
5. Round two: Speed Table Topics. One minute each, with green at 45 seconds and red at one minute, as described in Toastmaster magazine.
6. After each speaker, the group gives one sentence of genuine praise only. Feedback technique comes on Day 2.

Related lessons: Public speaking and presentations

Filler-word clinic

Toastmasters notes that filler words are invisible to the speaker but not to the listener. Today you make them visible and swap them for pauses.

1. The Ah-Counter role in Toastmasters notes sounds such as 'ah', 'um' and 'er' and overused words such as 'and', 'well', 'but', 'so' and 'you know'. Add 'like', and in Arabic 'yaani' or 'ehh'.
2. Speak for one minute on a new topic card while a partner tallies your fillers.
3. Repeat on the same topic, this time pausing silently whenever you feel a filler coming.
4. Compare the two counts. Do not aim for zero; aim for fewer and for pauses that feel deliberate.
5. Write your top two filler words on a card to watch for this week.